Wednesday, December 29, 2010

The last time I was here was more than 10 years ago and even then I fell in love with this city. It wasn't too large nor too small for my taste. And even now even with more traffic it still offers the perfect mix of city and outdoor living. You get many shopping malls, an active night scene but still enjoy fresh air and cool breezes. Just a few minutes commute and you have beaches, rivers, mountains and streams.

During the years Cagayan de Oro City "the City of Golden Friendship" has become a tourist destination. Among it's more popular draws are the longest dual zipline in Asia and the white river rafting. Technically both aren't located in Cagayan de Oro but rather in the adjacent province of Bukidnon but CDO serves as the staging point having the nearest airport.

The white water rafting is a must for those visiting CDO. There are already about 6 rafting organizers that you can contact. During our visit, we made arrangements with Kagay. There are 4 levels of rafting difficulty you can choose from: beginner, advanced, and 2 high level options. They differ in the roughness of the rapids. Even if it is your first time I strongly suggest that you skip the beginner and take the Advanced course.

Kagay offers the Advanced course at P1300/head which includes transportation to and from the river. If you are travelling in a party of less than 6, I suggest you make your reservation in advance and schedule it during the weekends since there has to be a minimum of 6 persons on a raft. The Advanced course consists of 24 rapids along a 16km stretch of the Cagayan River which will take you about 4 hours to complete. For an additional P300 you get an additional guide to serve as a photographer - this is highly recommended because you'll want to have many remembrances of this experience.

Make no mistake, this isn't a sightseeing boat ride. This is an authentic rafting experience and even though every safety precaution is taken, expect the possibility of minor injuries or bruises especially if you fall off the raft, or if your raft capsizes... and expect to get very wet and cold. (Of course it wouldn't be as memorable if no one falls off).

The tour starts with a short briefing on what to do if you fall off the raft, when to paddle and other instructions. 2 guides go with your group on the raft while the photographer (which you really should get) takes a kayak and goes ahead.

This alone makes it work the trip to Cagayan de Oro and it would be a sin not to experience this if you haven't been rafting before. I should know - I fell off the raft and I now know how important "Don't Panic" really is when you're in the water.

PS: for maximum enjoyment go during the rainy season when the river swells and the rapids are larger and the current stronger :)

Sunday, December 12, 2010

I read somewhere that 50% of marriages end in divorce. I wonder how many relationships the husband and wife had to go through before they eventually ended up getting married... and then divorced. I guess a successful relationship has an even lower chance of succeeding than a marriage. But that brings up the question: what is a successful relationship?

When marriage is not an option, how do we know a relationship is successful? Is it simply as long as they're together it's successful?

Given the odds, it's almost a sure thing that a relationship will fail. Still we go into them hoping against all odds. But for those who don't believe it'll last, why go into in the first place?

But maybe most of us have to accept the fact that things may not last. But then shouldn't that push us to make the most of it while it lasts?

Make every day together count, make every fight a lesson learned, and every occasion a celebration.